Kids With Guns
by sckry
Summary: Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, Avalanches casualties. How did they come to be apart of an ecoterrorist group that defied the world? This is their three seperate accounts, explaining the reasons they had something to say 'no' to.
1. Sparkler Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any ff7 characters.

**Summery: **This is the stories of Biggs, Wedge and Jessie, the deceased members of Avalanche. Each character will have their own seperate account following their childhood up to their deaths. Please tell me what you think and if you like the concepts. Ideas and criticism is welcome.

* * *

_'They got something to say 'no' to.' _

_ - _Gorillaz, Kids with Guns

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**Sparkler Part 1**

Jessie McKenzie was a slum rat from the moment of her unplanned and unwanted birth. Her Ma had been a teenaged mother at the age of seventeen when she fell pregnant. Nine months and a hasty marriage later and Jessie was born in Sector Five in the middle of the night.

She couldn't blame her mother for slightly resenting her first child. It had pretty much sealed her fate to the slums forever, married to an out-of-work gambling electrician, struggling to raise her and the four boys who would later enter the world.

Her father, twenty-one years old when he married her mother, was already stuck with rearing his two-year old half brother, and did not particularly relish the thought of a daughter.

It wasn't that he was a bad man. He didn't drink much. Well, less then most slum men, and he never laid a hand on her mother or his children. After a while, he didn't mind being a father. Then again, he was only home for a limited amount of time at the beginning. He didn't gamble so much in the beginning either.

The small family house was a mismatch of different materials. As the family grew, her father, who was known as Macca, had to erect some additional rooms to fit them all in. The Shamble House, they called it. Jessie, Gren, her half uncle and Dan, the oldest brother, helped him. They scrounged the Sector for building materials. Adrift planks of wood and sheets of tin would be taken for the walls. They stole materials from Shinra building sites, careful not to get caught. Loose bits from existing buildings would be skillfully pilchard from unobservant tenants. The Shamble House got most of its furniture that way.

Jessie's childhood was one shared by most in Midgar. She, Gren and Dan, and the other boys when they were old enough, ran amok on the dirty metropolitan streets that were their home. They fought over marbles, started a gang, stole food and did chores for those who could pay them. The other kids knew them as the 'McKenzie lot', and Gren was their leader, with Jessie in second command. She cut no slack from any kid who gave her a hard time for being a gixie. She grew up tough, Jessie did.

They even had a gang hideout, made in one of the Sectors junkyards. They used tires for seats and lumps of wood and brick as a make shift table. They were proud of their hideout, something to be called as their own. They decorated it with glass and bits of smashed tile that they found. They had even managed to scrounge a couple of cracked mugs from the yard.

Gren and Jessie would often come home covered in sores and bruises from the latest gang scuffle. Her Ma would scowl at them both then, before roughly pulling them over to be patched up. Harried by the burdens of child rearing, she had little time for sympathy. The young boys would turn to Jessie instead. She didn't mind, being a kind of second mum at such a young age. Besides, one more kid was another pair of fists that could be counted on in a street fight.

Gren, Jessie, Dan, Pete, Arn and Ray. That was the pecking order. The older kids looked out for the youngers, at school (where they rarely attended), at home or the streets. It was dangerous to be caught alone.

Macca worked a lot in those days, coming home in the late hours and leaving early in the morning. Her Ma worked as well, as a seamstress, when she could get the work. They had quiet a brood to feed, ole' Macca and his Missus.

When Jessie was eight, Gren broke his arm. He had been trying to climb one of the Sector walls. They had done it before, but could never reach the plate. Gren wanted to, he fell. Jessie was scared then, she thought he had died. She had always thought that Gren was invincible, but he was only two years older then her.

Macca had laughed when they told him what they had been trying to do, before carrying the lad to the closest thing to a quack the Sector had. Ma had been steaming at them, it had cost them a fair amount, and gil was hard to come by. Gren had had his arm put in place, but it always hung on a funny angle after that. He had to wear it in a sling for months after. Despite being left handicapped, he wore the sling like a badge of honour.

With Gren out of action for a while, Jessie had taken control of the clan. Business as usual. Stealing food and little bits of junk when they could, breaking up fights between Pete and Arn.

Her Ma started making her work harder at school after that. Or, at least, she had tried. The poor mot saw that her slum gutter daughter was turning out just like her, and she wanted more for her offspring then that.

'_You gixie, don' you slack off now, or ye'll wake up one morn an' find yourself with a brood of chillun'!'_

Jessie felt bad, and tried as much as she could be bothered. She didn't know how much of a difference it would have made; Slum education didn't count for much. She could read and write fair enough, but she wasn't a letters person. She liked to use her hands, like Macca.

Being a sparky was hard work, said her Da. It was long hours and in much demand, but in the slums there was only so much you could expect to be paid. Life could have been better, though, if he didn't gamble.

On her tenth birthday, Macca took her by the shoulders and asked her if she wanted to help out the family some more.

'_Macca, I always look after the chillun' you know that.'_

'_Yeah, but girlie, you wanna help us pull in some gil? We're goin' through a bad spell at the moment, you wouldn' mind giving yer ole' Da a hand, would you?'_

She had raised her eyebrow at him to show him she was listening. He chuckled; it was an old habit of his.

'_Whadda 'bout Gren?'_

'_Aw, Jes, you know he'll never be a sparky, he's a soldier, tha one. He's already got his sights on joining Shinra.'_

It was true. Gren the leader, Gren the adventurous, Gren the fighter. Jessie knew he wanted out of the Slums. During the past year, he had slowly stopped coming to the hideout, not joining in the clan's escapades, trying harder then she to do better at school. You had to be smart to join SOLDIER, resourceful.

The McKenzie lot was splitting up.

She rolled her eyes at him.

'_Allrigh' Macca, I'll help you.'_

'_That's me girl.'_

So, she started as an apprentice. That's what ole' Macca called her. He would smile roguishly and ruffle her hair, as if she were a lad, and joke to his friends.

'_Jes is me apprentice, take over the family trade, eh?'_

She didn't help out too much, at first. Ma was pregnant again and needed help round the house. The boys needed her too, to keep them in line. They would go feral if she weren't there to keep them in check. But slowly, she began spending more and more time helping her Da. Even if she simply fetched tools for him, Macca took her around. She didn't mind too much, really.

Ma liked her working too. Macca gambled less when she went with him.

A year passed. Jessie turned eleven. Gren turned thirteen.

It was April. They recruited lads for service in June.

She didn't want Gren to go. He was my best friend, as well as a brother. She never had seen him as an uncle, it just didn't work.

Jessie cornered him one day, in the junkyard. She had just found out he had signed up for the entrance exam. He was making slashing movements with a rusty iron rod as she approached. Jessie stood there watching him for a while.

'_Hyah!'_

'_That's the poorest battle screech I ever heard.'_

He jumped at the sound of her voice, dropping the rod.

'_Ah-huh? Jessie?'_

He scowled at her.

'_What you want? Can't you see I'm practicing.'_

'…_Why've you signed up?'_

'_Wha-oh, Jes, ye know why, I told you 'ready.'_

'_Tell me again then, 'cause I still don' get why you wanna leave us!'_

Gren sighed and stopped trying to resume training. He walked over to her.

'_Jes, I've told ye enough times, I'm not gonna lose my life in this scut hole. I don't wanna rot down here.' _

He turned away from her and gestured to the overlying plate.

'_I wanna see the sky with me own eyes afore I die, as a free cove. SOLDIER will give me that.' _

Jessie folded her arms and scowled at him. She still didn't see his way of thinking. After all, Shinra and their SOLDIER's were the ones who made them like this.

'Whadda 'bout us? You're gonna go and leave us down here, are ye?' 

Gren made an exasperated face at her.

'_I told yer, I'm gonna still visit, yer bugnob, and I'll be getting' paid too. I'll be able to contribute now.'_

'_You could contribute down here.' _She said sullenly.

'_What? As an apprentice to a cove who gambles all his money away afore looking out for his brood? I wanna do better in life then that Jessie, better!!'_

'_How _dare _you say that about Macca, you cuddy scut-face! Me an' him work damn hard, don't speak of him like that-'_

Jessie threw herself onto Gren and started laying into him hard. She had got him by surprise, but it wasn't long before Gren responded. They scuffled on the ground, punching, kicking, and scratching at one another.

Jessie grabbed a chunk of his hair and shoved Gren's face into the ground. He let out a muffled yelp before throwing her off and getting her in the stomach with his knee. She keeled over, winded, before struggling as Gren sought to pin her down.

'_You-'_

He winced as she snaked a hand up to claw him in the face.

'_-little-'_

Knocking back her hand, he shoved his own forward into her face. She tried to bite him.

'_-minx-'_

Gren tussled with her, managing to elbow her in the ribs before Jessie wriggled out of his grip and scrambled away.

They circled each other wearily, both breathing hard. Jessie could see that Gren's nose was bleeding, and her claw marks stood out white on his flushed skin. Herself, she could feel that she had a split lip, and her stomach and ribs hurt bad. She also realized she was crying.

Gren saw too, he stood up straight and opened arms, reaching for her.

'_Aw, Jes, lookit, I didn' mean what I said.'_

'_Stay away!' _she screeched at him, but made no move to leave. Jessie was crying seriously now. She could even hear her own sobs. She tried to stop but couldn't control it.

'_Gren, why'dya have ta go!!' _she howled.

He looked uncomfortable, before stepping towards her and giving her a rough hug. The McKenzie lot were close, but they weren't really a 'huggy' family.

Gren waited until Jessie stopped crying. She pulled away from him to glare accusingly.

'I'm getting' out Jessie. You don' wanna stay here f'ever. Do ye?' 

She shook her head fiercely.

'_Well, I'm getting' out quick smart. Them smeg's on the plate ain't gonna help us, they don' even care, so I gotta get up there without their help. I'm gonna be a SOLDIER, Jessie, so_ no-man _can tell me what ta do.'_

She sniffled again and looked to the ground.

'Jessie?' 

'_Mnn.'_

'_Do ye get me?'_

'…'

Jessie heard him sigh and step away. She looked up in time to see him wipe the blood away from his face. She felt tears coming to her eyes again.

'_Gren?'_

He looked at her. She stared at the ground again, grinding her right foot into the dirt.

'…_you…ye will write an' visit us, won't you?'_

'I said I would, didn' I?' 

'…_yeah but…'_

'_You're a duck-nob sometimes, Jes.'_

She scowled at him behind his back, running up to follow him home.

That April, Gren applied as a rookie recruit. He passed on the spot. He left the slums to train with the Shinra Force on the Upper Plate, so that one day, he could get into SOLDIER.

Jessie didn't cry as he boarded the train. She was head of the clan now. Macca's right hand gixie.

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**Authors Note: **Hope you liked it. Just a quick glossery on some of the Slum slang terms I used, pilfered from a veriaty of sources.

Gixie: girl, Cove: man, Mot: woman, common born, Scut: idiot, Bugnob: peron of little brain, Cud: slob, Chillun': children, smeg: derogatory term (go red dwarf!)

Please review.


	2. Sparkler Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own ff7 or any of its characters.

**Authors note:** Well, heres the second chapter. Theres a lot in this one, so I won't blame you if you get a bit lost. Please bare with it, it covers quiet a few years and events. Hope you still like it.

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**Sparkler Part 2**

Gren kept his word. He wrote to them, though they received far less letters then he sent. Censor. He sent them money too. A quarter of his pay, as he had to save up for new equipment. He also visited, occasionally. He said it was tough, getting a pass into the slums when he was still a Rookie. They would meet him at the station, and make a fuss, but in the end, he always went back again.

It had been four months before Gren first visited. He was only allowed to stay for the day. The boys went crazy, especially Dan and Pete. They went around proclaiming how they were all going to join SOLDIER and be under Gren's command. Jessie could see how pleased that made him.

She asked him to tell her about it, once the boys had gone off to play with the burnt out car that had arrived last week. They were in the junkyard, sitting on the hideouts makeshift roof. The smog of the city was clinging to the surrounding buildings.

'_The sky, Jessie, and the air, it's so clean up there! Ye can see the stars at night. Not like here. I'll show ye some time.'_

'_phhft.'_

He frowned at her.

'_Don't scoff, I will, you'll love it, I know ye will.'_

Jessie picked at a scab on her knee, and pretended not to be jealous.

'_Whadda 'bout yer training? Do you hafta shoot a gun yet?'_

'_I've done a bit in basic training, but mostly I'm a messenger at the moment. I'm too young ta be a proper SOLDIER yet, the real training don' start 'til you're fifteen.'_

Four months gone, but Jessie could already see him changing. It wasn't just his speech, so much more polished then before, but it was his attitude as well. He looked at the Shamble House as if it was a thing of the past, a place to come back to for duty's sake. Not as a waiting home. Already, Gren was leaving.

'_I'm gonna be a real SOLDIER one day, Jessie.'_

He spoke softly, gazing down at the lads who were scuffing about in the yard. She sat in silence, not sure what to say.

'_A real SOLDIER, not like them grunts I hafta serve under now. I mean a real one, with mako eyes.'_

Jessie stared at him in shock.

'_Ye wanna be one of them witch-men with shining gleemers?'_

Gren frowned at the slang name, even though he had said it many a time.

'_They're the best of the best. I saw some of 'em training. It was awesome. Ye'll see, I'll make it.'_

They both fell silent then.

Gren left that evening, back up to the plate. Macca had strange look on his face as he watched his half-brother leave for the Upper Plate, but Jessie couldn't place it at all.

She often wondered what life was like for him. He told her stuff, when he visited, but she wondered about all the stuff he didn't mention. What were the men like, those that he learned from? Did they look down at the slum rat who wanted to play soldier?

Macca was relying on her more and more, even though she was only young. He got her to do the small jobs that he was too busy to do. She learned how to connect and cut wires, how to short-circuit a system.

She saw less of the boys, though still tried to get out with them at times. Dan was getting older, taking Gren's place as leader. He still took note of Jessie though; his sister could beat him black and blue if he gave her any sass. Arn was starting to come out with them, not wanting to be left under their mother's watchful eye. They had to teach him the tricks of the trade, all the side street routes, the best places to steal from, which areas to avoid. Pete especially enjoyed having a younger kid to boss around.

It seemed like a blink of an eye, but before she could figure it out, Jessie was fourteen.

Her days of scrabbling around the back-alleys with her brothers were over. She had to work full time to bring in enough money to feed the family. Macca's gambling had taken a dangerous turn.

Times were always tough in Midgar, ever since the war. But things in the slums had become drastically worse over the past few years. The pollution had always been on the back of everybody's minds, but it was becoming harder and harder to breath properly without choking yourself. And there was the food shortage. Not that that was a new phenomenon in the slums, it went without saying that those on the Plate got the cream pickings, while those underneath were left to rot.

Jessie knew Gren had no problems with food. The few times he had come down to see them he had grown far bigger and stronger then any of them. Like a tank.

And there was always Avalanche.

Not that she knew many solid facts about the rebel insurgents. For all Shinra demonized them with propaganda, Jessie didn't have it in her heart to go against them. It was hopeless, of course. It would take more then a rag-tag bunch of people to take down the mighty corporation.

Still, if there was any hope, it was Avalanche. They had evaded Shinra's dogs so far.

At the moment, she was sitting quietly in the Shamble House, bouncing the newest addition to the family, baby Jan, on her knee.

She sighed. Ray, her second youngest brother, had died just after his second birthday. It had been a virus, a disease or something. It wasn't unusual, plenty of babes in the slums died early on. Her Ma had been devastated. She hadn't gotten out of bed for weeks, leaving Jessie to run the house. It was only when Macca went spare at her for acting like _'-a stupid trull, get up an' stop yer pining, there'll be more a-coming anyhow-'_ that her Ma got up. She was back to her old self soon enough.

Here was her Ma now, bustling around the family room, and chastising the lads for eating like pigs. Macca was out, gambling.

'_Sit up, you lot, an' quit yer jabbering, yer sound like rats in a sewer, the way yer b'having.'_

'_But Ma, ye forget, we are a bunch o' rats!'_

'_Whiskers an' all!'_

The two boys ducked their heads laughing to avoid a swipe from their Ma, and Jessie tried not to chuckle as well.

'_Ooh, ye scurvy curs! What did a mot like me do ta deserve the likes of you lot.'_

'_I can tell ye Ma, it happens when a mot an' a cove…'_

If she let him, Pete would rabbit on with his foul mouth all night. They may be slum rats, but the McKenzie crew wasn't a rude, uncivilized mob. Her Ma had said as much. Jessie stood up, babe on her hip, and pinched her little brothers ear, twisting it painfully.

'_Ye stop that dirty mouth of yers this instant Peter McKenzie, or you'll be right sorry! What has Ma told you about fouling the language in this house, hmmm?'_

She let him whimper there for a moment before releasing his ear. Pete yelped as he fell to the floor, his brothers rolling around in laughter at his punishment.

Ma scowled at them again.

'_Stop tha' racket now! Peter! I want an' apology from ye for Jessie here!'_

Ma bustled into the kitchen as the browbeaten Pete sullenly stood up and expressed his regrets to Jessie. She smiled and ruffled his hair affectionately.

All the boys, even the baby was in bed before Macca came home that night. Jessie had waited up with her mother; they both knew the deal by now.

Sure enough, well past midnight, the old man arrived stumbling home from the bar. He staggered into the house, half drunk, only to be caught by his silent wife and daughter.

Jessie could see the worry lines on her Ma's face as they dragged him to bed. He wasn't laughing, dancing or trying to kiss Ma, so they knew he had lost more then his dignity tonight.

Her Ma spoke softly in the darkness of the room.

'_Ofta bed now, Jessie-lass, ye'll be havin' a hard day's work ahead tomorra.'_

It was the same every night. Jessie had no doubt that they would be flat broke if she didn't pilfer at least half of her Da's pay to keep the house hold with. She didn't know if he was aware of it, but her Ma said it was best not to enlighten him.

* * *

When she was in her fifteenth year, Jessie dropped out of school to work with Macca full time. She would actually be paid full wages now. Not that it was very much, it was less then her fathers because she was a girl, but it was damn better them nothing.

She met all his work mates, although she knew most of them already, and she had never met Mr Ignis. He was a half-crazy old man who had been a sparky for as long as any of the men could remember yet had never done an ounce of constructive work, at least, any that the other sparky's could see. He was a wiry thin man with ash gray skin and a drinking problem. Macca told her he was a veteran. Jessie asked what of and he said the Wutai War.

That had shut her up.

He was all right, if you got him on a good day. Whenever Jessie saw him he was shuffling around his little workroom, frizzy hair askew and back hunched over his table.

One day he caught her watching him. His deep-set eyes gave Jessie a chill and she was pinned to the spot by his piercing gaze. Instead of yelling at her to take a trip, he had smiled gleefully and beckoned her over.

She had walked over cautiously to his workbench. It was a heaped pile of gadgets, wires and trinkets that Jessie had no idea what they were. Mr Ignis had some kind of gadget in front of him. It looked like it had a timer on it, as well as a couple of buttons and gauges.

'_Ye wan' ta see wha' eim up ta, gixie, eh?'_

Having no idea as what to say to the crazy man, Jessie bit her lip and nodded. He cackled gleefully like a small child up to mischief and motioned her closer.

'_Ei'll tell ye a little secret then, Ei shall.'_

He looked around warily, as if to make sure no one was in earshot.

'_Ye wan' ta see what this ole' mad cove gits up ta all day?'_

He moved back to show her the collection of gadgets scattered around him. Jessie found, despite herself, that she was half-curious to see what the old man actually did. She took a little step forward.

With a shaky hand, Mr Ignis, picked up object in front of him.

'_Itssa bomb.'_

Jessie's eyes widened, and she almost jumped when he tossed it casually in the air to catch it with the other wizened hand. He chuckled at her reaction

'_No fear, young gixie, it willna' go off, its got no powder, see?'_

Turning the supposed bomb over, he showed her.

'_Ei don' have any of the stuff needed, well, no' much anyhow. Those tha' buy 'em off me get tha' themselves.'_

Jessie felt her stomach turn over. The old man sold _bombs_. It made her slightly afraid yet intrigued at the same time. She managed to get her voice working.

'_Who…who do ye sell 'em to?'_

Mr Ignis merely winked, tapped his nose with his finger.

_No' fer the likes of ye ta know, lass. Don' go spillin' like a birdie on this ole cove, will ye?'_

Seeing her hurried nod, he turned his back to her and started fiddling around with one of his little gizmos. Jessie took it as her dismissal and backed away.

It wasn't always easy for Jessie to do her work. She was still young and inexperienced. Many clients gave her trouble, especially if Macca wasn't around. She'd had to knee a man in the privets more then once when they'd tried to grope her. She always went away fuming and humiliated. Macca did nothing, if and when she told him. He'd just shrug and tell her it was the slums.

She spoke to Mr Ignis again. He didn't work solely on bombs. He made other things too. Things that would open electric Shinra doors, decrypt codes, and trace a bugged person. He even eventually taught her how to make some of the stuff herself. Sometimes he would call her over to show her the newest device he was working on. Sometimes he had such a fowl temper she did everything in her power to avoid him.

She guessed they became friends. Not close friends, but they didn't mind the others company.

The biggest mistake you could make with ole' Ignis was mentioning the war.

'_Hey, Ignis…'_

It was a good day, he was showing her how the wires connected up on one of the more complicated devices.

'…_where d'ye learn all this any way?'_

She saw his back stiffen. He made no reply.

'_Sir…?'_

Jessie stepped up, frowning.

'_Was it…it-it wasn' in the war, was it?'_

He whirled suddenly on her, roaring.

'_DON' YE SAY NOTHIN' BOUT THE WAR, AN' NOTHING BOUT THEM GODS CURSED YELLA SKIN SLANT EYES!!!'_

His eyes looked glazed and unfocused. Jessie leapt away from him, heart in mouth. She was stunned, afraid, shocked.

It took a moment for Jessie to realize that Mr Ignis wasn't looking at her. He was looking past her. As suddenly as it had arrived, she saw the anger on his face fade away, watched as his shoulders slowly slumped down. His fists, raised in anger, dropped to his sides. He just stood there, staring.

'_M…Mister I-Ignis?…ye…you alright?'_

When he made no answer, Jessie stepped tentatively forward, hesitating in uncertainty.

'_Ignis?'_

'…_couladoneitifjen-'_

'_huh?'_

The old man looked up at her surprised, as if he had been unaware of her presence. Shaking his head, he turned slowly to lean heavily on the workbench.

'_Ah, min gixie, off ye git now.'_

His voice was soft, scratchy and ever so weary. Jessie stared at him and realized his face was the same. Old, weary and haunted by the past.

'_Hurrugh…go on, lass, ye ma'll be waiting fer ye.'_

Ignis waved her away, and Jessie felt she should do something, but did not know what. There was nothing else but leave. Truth was, she felt like crying, but she didn't want to put that guilt onto the old man. Walking quickly away, she glanced back briefly to see old Mr Ignis move into the shadows of his lonely workroom, and wearily make ready for the coming night.

* * *

Hmm...just mentioning that the out burst still feels a bit iffy to me, as I'm not quiet sure how well it works. What do you think of Mr Ignis? Well, please review to give me some tips and your opinion.


	3. UPDATE

Hey there everybody! Sorry about the long silence. As you might have noticed, I have long given up fanfiction and am now working on an original project I have been working on for a long with a good friend of mine. I apologise for not finishing some of these fics, but I hope you'll at least take a look :) Enjoy!

The first chapter of the Eariee Project is now LIVE

.com

Any one who hasn't heard about out little project, The Eariee Project is an online illustrated novel by *Cae-sar and myself.  
Writing by myself and drawings by *Cae-sar. Story by both of us.

The first chapter is now up and the first page of the second chapter will be up tomorrow. Sunday the 8th, 6pm here in perth Aust.

Feed back on the site would be awesome. There are a few glitches in IE browser, which Julia's tried to mend with no luck. But who uses IE any way. Also just had a major problem with Comicpress which resulted in my losing 5 pages, just re-added those.

This is going to be a challenge for both of us, so please give us any feedback or criticism you have. Julia's done a wonderful job on the website design, so it's left to me to try and write decently.

The first 4 chapters have been written and we have a pretty good head start on this P:

Due to its nature of being a novel and not a comic its going to take at least 30 pages to get going. The story is really going to pick up around chapter 4 so please be patient


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